her?” Chloe asked.
“Yeah, and kiss her.”
“So you want us to leave so you can kiss?” Drew asked, his disappointment evident.
“No,” I said, sitting down on the bed with them. “Let’s just all do something together, okay?”
“We could play Barbies,” Chloe suggested.
“No!” Drew glared at her.
“Dinner’s gonna be about an hour, so how ‘bout we play Barbies for 30 minutes and then do what Drew wants to do for 30 minutes?” I said.
“I’m not being a girl Barbie,” Drew grumbled. “And she only has one boy Barbie over here.”
“I’ll be a girl Barbie, then,” I offered.
The kids led the way out of the room and I reached for Samara’s hand, bringing it up to my lips to kiss her knuckles. Her wide smile made me eager for dinner to be over so we could be alone. I’d told her how much I liked her, but tonight I was hoping for a chance to show her.
Chapter 5
Samara
I had a worry in the back of my mind that I’d get attached to Orion – really attached – and then he’d leave for his real, much more glamorous life. And in the span of one day, I now had the same worry about his family. They were so easy to like, and I already knew I’d miss them if this was a here today, gone tomorrow kind of thing.
“So Chloe tells me you work at the library,” Orion’s mom Diane said to me.
I nodded and swallowed the bite of lasagna I’d been chewing. “Just three evenings a week. My full time job is at the Supersaver.”
I waited for her head to swivel toward me. Surely she’d wonder what her pro athlete son saw in a woman who worked at the local grocery store. But instead, she smiled at me.
“Really, what do you do there? Tim Anderson is a friend of ours. Well, my late husband’s, anyway.”
Tim was the store manager at the Supersaver. I didn’t know him very well, but he seemed like a good guy from what I did know.
“I work in the bakery.”
Diane’s face lit up. “You must know Liz, then!”
“I do. She’s my boss.”
“Liz is a character. I just love her,” Diane said, smiling. “We used to be in PTA together.”
“Did you go to school in Henley?” Olivia asked.
“Yep, she graduated in my class,” Orion said.
“Did you guys know each other back then?”
My cheeks warmed as I stared at my plate. Now it would come out that I’d been part of the Goth crowd that everyone considered the scariest subset of the entire class.
“Not all that well,” Orion said. “Hey, you need me to hang out with the kids again tomorrow?”
“No, I’m off tonight, but thanks.”
“Uncle Orion did a backflip into the pool,” Chloe said in a tone that made it sound like she was revealing a deep secret.
“Did he?” Olivia said.
“Can you do that, Mommy?”
Olivia laughed and covered her mouth with her napkin. “Um, no. Orion’s always been the athletic one.”
“Which one are you, Mom?” Drew asked.
“The smart one.”
Orion rolled his eyes dramatically. His hand rested on my knee beneath the table. Sitting next to him at dinner with his family was disarming. I was already realizing this guy was different. He was genuinely sweet and caring. He wasn’t self-centered, like I’d assumed he would be. But seeing this nurturing side of him was melting me into a puddle.
He was a pro hockey player who probably could’ve been on a yacht in the south of France right now, but instead he was home in Henley, Indiana because he wanted to help out his family. This knowledge, paired with his undeniable sex appeal, made me want things I hadn’t wanted in a very long time.
The thought scared me. I did sometimes get lonely from my sole close relationship being with my cat Libby. But I needed safety and predictability. After all the years of living a life of chaos, I needed to not feel afraid every day anymore.
When the kids were excused from the table, Diane rose and started gathering dirty dishes. I stood up and met her eyes across the table.
“I’d like to help with
“Yeah, and kiss her.”
“So you want us to leave so you can kiss?” Drew asked, his disappointment evident.
“No,” I said, sitting down on the bed with them. “Let’s just all do something together, okay?”
“We could play Barbies,” Chloe suggested.
“No!” Drew glared at her.
“Dinner’s gonna be about an hour, so how ‘bout we play Barbies for 30 minutes and then do what Drew wants to do for 30 minutes?” I said.
“I’m not being a girl Barbie,” Drew grumbled. “And she only has one boy Barbie over here.”
“I’ll be a girl Barbie, then,” I offered.
The kids led the way out of the room and I reached for Samara’s hand, bringing it up to my lips to kiss her knuckles. Her wide smile made me eager for dinner to be over so we could be alone. I’d told her how much I liked her, but tonight I was hoping for a chance to show her.
Chapter 5
Samara
I had a worry in the back of my mind that I’d get attached to Orion – really attached – and then he’d leave for his real, much more glamorous life. And in the span of one day, I now had the same worry about his family. They were so easy to like, and I already knew I’d miss them if this was a here today, gone tomorrow kind of thing.
“So Chloe tells me you work at the library,” Orion’s mom Diane said to me.
I nodded and swallowed the bite of lasagna I’d been chewing. “Just three evenings a week. My full time job is at the Supersaver.”
I waited for her head to swivel toward me. Surely she’d wonder what her pro athlete son saw in a woman who worked at the local grocery store. But instead, she smiled at me.
“Really, what do you do there? Tim Anderson is a friend of ours. Well, my late husband’s, anyway.”
Tim was the store manager at the Supersaver. I didn’t know him very well, but he seemed like a good guy from what I did know.
“I work in the bakery.”
Diane’s face lit up. “You must know Liz, then!”
“I do. She’s my boss.”
“Liz is a character. I just love her,” Diane said, smiling. “We used to be in PTA together.”
“Did you go to school in Henley?” Olivia asked.
“Yep, she graduated in my class,” Orion said.
“Did you guys know each other back then?”
My cheeks warmed as I stared at my plate. Now it would come out that I’d been part of the Goth crowd that everyone considered the scariest subset of the entire class.
“Not all that well,” Orion said. “Hey, you need me to hang out with the kids again tomorrow?”
“No, I’m off tonight, but thanks.”
“Uncle Orion did a backflip into the pool,” Chloe said in a tone that made it sound like she was revealing a deep secret.
“Did he?” Olivia said.
“Can you do that, Mommy?”
Olivia laughed and covered her mouth with her napkin. “Um, no. Orion’s always been the athletic one.”
“Which one are you, Mom?” Drew asked.
“The smart one.”
Orion rolled his eyes dramatically. His hand rested on my knee beneath the table. Sitting next to him at dinner with his family was disarming. I was already realizing this guy was different. He was genuinely sweet and caring. He wasn’t self-centered, like I’d assumed he would be. But seeing this nurturing side of him was melting me into a puddle.
He was a pro hockey player who probably could’ve been on a yacht in the south of France right now, but instead he was home in Henley, Indiana because he wanted to help out his family. This knowledge, paired with his undeniable sex appeal, made me want things I hadn’t wanted in a very long time.
The thought scared me. I did sometimes get lonely from my sole close relationship being with my cat Libby. But I needed safety and predictability. After all the years of living a life of chaos, I needed to not feel afraid every day anymore.
When the kids were excused from the table, Diane rose and started gathering dirty dishes. I stood up and met her eyes across the table.
“I’d like to help with
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